Kuwana-juku

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Kuwana-juku in the 1830s, as depicted by Hiroshige in the Hōeidō edition of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1831–1834)

Kuwana-juku (桑名宿, Kuwana-juku) was the forty-second of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in former Ise Province in what is now part of the city of Kuwana, in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It was located on the western shores of the Ibi River and is considered to be the easternmost point of the Kansai dialect. It is 28 km from the preceding post station of Miya-juku.

History[]

Kuwana-juku was located in the castle town of the Kuwana Domain. It is connected to Miya-juku through the Pass of 28 km (七里の渡し, Shichiri no Watashi) and served as the entrance for those going towards Ise Grand Shrines. Some travelers along the road would take ships across the inner Ise Bay from Miya-juku (located in present-day Nagoya near Atsuta Shrine) to Kuwana, thus avoiding numerous river crossings.

The classic ukiyo-e print by Andō Hiroshige (Hōeidō edition) from 1831–1834 depicts the two large ships moored in the Kiso River, with other ships sailing away in the background.

At the end of the Edo period, Kuwana-juku had two honjin, four wakihonjin and 120 lesser inns.

During the Edo period, Kuwana was directly on the shores of the river, but after the Kansai Railroad built Kuwana Station, the city center was shifted further to the west.

Neighboring post towns[]

Tōkaidō

Miya-juku - Kuwana-juku - Yokkaichi-juku

Saya Kaidō

Saya-juku - Kuwana-juku (ending location)

References[]

Further reading[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kuwana-juku.

• Carey, Patrick. Rediscovering the Old Tokaido:In the Footsteps of Hiroshige. Global Books UK (2000). ISBN 1-901903-10-9
• Chiba, Reiko. Hiroshige's Tokaido in Prints and Poetry. Tuttle. (1982) ISBN 0-8048-0246-7
• Taganau, Jilly. The Tokaido Road: Travelling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan. RoutledgeCurzon (2004). ISBN 0-415-31091-1
• "Shichiri no Watashi Old Port". Kuwana-city Tourist guide. Kuwana-City. Retrieved April 30, 2017.